THE ENDLESS RIVER
Spirituality Throughout Time
by
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PREFACE
Being raised as part of a Christian minister''s family, my early years were centered around the activities of the church, so religion colored my life experience a great deal. As I look back today, I see the implications of those teachings have profoundly affected my values and way of being in the world, and I am extremely grateful.
As an adult, the study of the world''s religions became my major interest, and it has taken me into distant hiding places to retrieve mystery teachings and ancient texts of wisdom. Compiled with more modern philosophies and pragmatic approaches, they find me in the role of an amateur magician who has enjoyed alternative pathways toward "enlightenment."
As a consequence, the disciplines come together under the mantle of one giant, all-encompassing belief in the perfection that resides throughout. The following writings have grown out of the effort to apply the various stories of saints and saviors over time to a daily life, not only in theory but in practice.
I offer the insights of my discoveries as workable techniques for living a spiritually-based, earthbound experience of success and happiness. My ways of "putting it all together" would certainly fall under the heading of the mystic rather than a follower of any particular belief system as I have made my own discoveries in accord with what works for me. Consequently, the suggestions given here should be practiced for oneself, rather than accepted verbatim. As students of life''s mysteries, each of us has the opportunity to develop our own balance in regard to life''s challenges. I found that the experiences of prophets and sages of all times and cultures can aid in that process. They all represent necessary steps toward our own personal enlightenment, uniting us as one human family.
INTRODUCTION
We are born with no owners'' manual or book of instructions. Consequently, every culture throughout history has tried to devise some game rules about "How to survive on planet earth," usually via ritual and ceremony. The important issue is "what works for us," as long as it does no harm to others. With that in mind, the following essays are offered as information to guide your search without comment as to the success or failure of their tenets. History speaks for itself.
The mystical graces are open to everyone and each is responsible to make his/her life a pilgrimage toward glory. The ways are many to enter the Divine Life, but only as we love our Maker with our whole heart and soul and mind will we be able to love our neighbor or ourselves - some form of the Golden Rule has been present in all religions.
We see that from about 800 B.C. sacrifices and ceremonies ceased to be enough to make up a human''s religious life. The whole god-concept was changing at that point in time. Furthermore, a noticeably recurring theme runs throughout history relative to religious concepts: East and West are naturally complimentary and both are needed for a synthesis of thought and unification. When aware that we are a mix of peasant and aristocracy, we experience a wide variety of what it is to be human.
In drawing a synthesis from the study of all of the great leaders and the ideas they presented, we can easily see that individual traits were characterized by the time and cultural climate into which they were born. More than their differences, however, the similarities attract our attention. The overlap is universal. Since each provided answers to special needs arising in a particular time in history, a composite enhances our understanding.
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About the Book
The chapters of this book are comprised of brief and personal glimpses of few special individuals who not only found their essence but who acted on it, making a difference in the quality of life for all those who followed. Their sincere contributions to the evolution of man and the examples they created influenced my steps, making my melody a more harmonious and organized composition. I am eternally grateful.
I am also in debt to many people who have proven to be teachers and guides for me, since they showed me what I needed to learn about myself along the way. Some have given me energy – some have taken it away, but all have been necessary parts of my ongoing journey, and my heart acknowledges them. Each chapter indicates a superlative interest in the individual’s message – finding it to be part and parcel of my own inner resources. My life will never be the same as before my search began.
From the Pagan scriptures, in Stromateis is found the following quotation which I have found to be accurate.
“He that seeks will not rest until he finds;
he that has found shall marvel; he that has marveled shall reign; and he that has reigned shall rest.”
On that note, let the search begin. I hope you will develop a new “faith” in yourself, and the belief that you are always protected, directed and connected to the loving parent who brought you here to enjoy this beautiful planet. We’re in this thing together so practicing the Golden Rule will enhance all our days.
About the Author
Shirley was ordained in 1976 by Unity in Diversity Centers in
comptroller in the garment industry.
Shirley followed her "bliss" by studying world religions. Participating in the spiritual smorgasbord that was happening in
Her employment included staff positions at the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County , the Science of Mind magazine, and Metromedia Producers Corporation in Hollywood, Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, and the American Red Cross in St. Petersburg, Florida. She left her
Feeling led to every new situation during these years of freedom, Shirley lived in many cities around the country, always by invitation of work, family, or friends. She made her home in
Shirley''s connections with UDC netted her personal meetings with dignitaries from around the planet, including the Dalai Llama with whom she had a nice conversation while holding his hand during his first visit to our country. Satchidananda, Buckminster Fuller, Pier Villiat Kahn, and Reshad Field were others with whom she spent time during these important years which transformed her life. She became known as a "socially integrated mystic," realizing that every situation encountered offered opportunity for growth.
She loved her work assignments and took many varied jobs since she had no support from her ailing husband, whom she finally divorced. But her "spiritual" life continued while facilitating A COURSE IN MIRACLES in several different communities. The tenets of that material became ingrained in her thinking, providing workable techniques for dealing with challenges of any kind. Later, membership in Theosophy while in